Tonkin is the third Top 100 Dealership Group sold by Kerrigan Advisors in the last 12 months

Irvine, CA, December 19, 2016 – Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisory firm to auto dealers in the US, represented and advised the Ron Tonkin Dealerships, Portland's largest auto dealership group, in its sale to Gee Automotive Companies.  This transaction will create one of the nation’s top 50 dealership groups[1].  The Ron Tonkin Dealership Group, founded by Ron Tonkin in 1960, is ranked #93 on Automotive News’ Top 150 Dealership Group list and is currently led by Ed and Brad Tonkin, co-presidents of the group and sons of Ron Tonkin. 

“Kerrigan Advisors was instrumental to the sale process,” said Brad Tonkin, who will remain with the company and serve as Platform President for Gee Automotive Companies.  “The Kerrigan team identified the right buyer for our family’s business. Kerrigan Advisor’s responsiveness, client service and deep expertise was a key component to the success of this transition.” said Ed Tonkin.

Kerrigan Advisors, headed by Erin and Ryan Kerrigan has now represented three of the top 100 dealership groups in the last 12 months, and is currently engaged to sell two additional top 100 groups. Upon completion of this sale, Kerrigan Advisors will have advised on the sale of 42 dealership transactions since July 2015, representing over $800 million in client proceeds.

“Our job is not simply to enable the best possible financial transactions for our clients, but to identify a buyer who will carry on the legacy of our clients’ dealership business.  This transaction is a perfect example of the fulfillment of those core goals,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. 

“We know that Gee Automotive’s commitment to the Tonkin brand and high levels of service, as well as to Tonkin employees, ensures that the Ron Tonkin Dealerships will continue to be a successful and respected part of the Portland business community – as well of the automotive community at large. We are proud to have been part of this significant transaction” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report™ which includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download the Blue Sky Report, click here. The company also releases the monthly Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market.  The Kerrigan Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index, click here.

Erin Kerrigan (www.kerriganadvisors.com/meet-the-team-2/) is Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   For a recent video of Erin’s commentary on the market, click here: drivingsalesnews.com/erin-kerrigan-shares-insight-on-the-current-dealership-buysell-market/.

Ryan Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors and an expert on US auto retail buy-sell transaction work. Ryan served as Managing Director at Serent Capital, a $250mm private equity fund investing in middle market companies. Prior, he served as General Manager of the family’s auto dealership. Mr. Kerrigan began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised Fortune 500 companies on growth strategies, organizational issues, pricing and business valuation.

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2.5 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

In addition to the monthly Kerrigan Auto Retail Index, each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

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Kerrigan Auto Retail Index indicates auto retail stocks reacting positively to Trump election, outperforming S&P by 240.9%

Irvine, CA, December 1, 2016 – Kerrigan Advisors today announced that The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index was up 11.66% in the month of November, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index by 240.9%.  With no earnings announcements or other major industry events, The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index attributes the rise to the election of Donald Trump.  

“While the Trump administration is still in formation, we believe stocks are reacting to key themes which portend strong auto sales,” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.  “First amongst these is Trump’s stated focus on domestic job creation as well as his advocacy for aggressive spending on infrastructure, including roads, bridges and ports, which could increase employment and add to commercial vehicle demand. In addition, we believe the index is reacting positively to his proposals to stimulate the economy with tax cuts.” 

The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index, which is a monthly index for the auto retail industry covering the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market, shows the following key trends in the month of November:

• The Index rose 11.66% overall in November
• The Index outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index, which increased 3.42% 
• Each of the seven component stocks in the index were up in November
• Four of the stocks up over 15% for the month
• Group 1 Automotive posted the strongest gain with an increase of 20.44%, followed by Sonic Automotive (+18.16%), CarMax (+15.72%) and Asbury Automotive Group (+15.31%)

“More specific to auto retail, the incoming Trump administration is assumed to be more business-friendly, and could slow, if not disband, regulatory initiatives such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and increased CAFÉ mileage requirements, both moves seen as highly positive to auto retail,” continued Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.

The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to help public and private auto retailers understand the true value of their dealerships, while also providing key insights into factors influencing valuations of these public companies, with broader implications for the auto industry as a whole. To access the Kerrigan Auto Retail Index, click here.

Kerrigan Advisors also releases The Blue Sky Report™ four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download The Blue Sky Report, click here.

Erin Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   For a recent video of Erin’s commentary on the market, click here.

Ryan Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors and an expert on US auto retail buy-sell transactions. Ryan served as Managing Director at Serent Capital, a $250mm private equity fund investing in middle market companies. Prior, he briefly served as General Manager of the family’s auto dealership. Mr. Kerrigan began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised Fortune 500 companies on growth strategies, organizational issues, pricing and business valuation.

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

In addition to the monthly Kerrigan Auto Retail Index, each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan, who authors the report, is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

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Unengaged wait time in the dealership outpaced negotiation as the biggest consumer pain point in the car buying process, according to eLEND Solutions 2016 Dealer Survey

Foothill Ranch, CA –November 29, 2016 – For the third year in a row, a survey of auto dealers, fielded by eLEND Solutions™, shows a distinct disconnect between actual start-to-finish transaction times and what dealers believe is the “ideal” time consumers should spend in a dealership buying a car.

*includes % saying under an hour

While transaction times reported by dealers show a marked improvement over previous years, well over half still have a process that takes over two hours.  The culprits? Dealers cited transition time from Sales to F&I as the biggest slowdown and agreed that the time it takes to complete the F&I portion of the car buying process is the biggest obstacle to CSI success: over half reported that wait time, either in F&I or the dealership, constitutes the number one pain point for consumers. And, while nearly two-thirds cite improvements in the finance process as having the greatest potential positive impact on transaction times (getting F&I involved sooner, better real time data exchange, etc.), over 50% of respondents do not pull credit reports until well into the sales process.

“We are pleased to see that transaction times are improving for some dealerships, but this continues to be a pain point for many dealers, costing them significant dollars in resources and lost opportunities,” said Pete MacInnis, CEO of eLEND Solutions, Inc.

MacInnis cited a recent case study of a dealership that achieved significant transaction time improvements by streamlining sales and F&I as a proof point of the dollar benefits that come from reducing transaction times. By pre-qualifying customers at the start of the transaction, the dealership knocked approximately an hour off the transaction time, which resulted in increased gross profits per car sold of  $300+, while saving as much as $275 on variable labor and other costs, and generating a four point increase in CSI.

Key Survey Highlights:

Transaction times improve, but don’t meet dealer goals

While dealers are still not meeting their ideal goals, transaction times have improved according to the snapshot survey. In 2014, 40% of dealers reported an over three hour process while in 2016, only 25% of dealers surveyed said their process took over three hours.

Over a third of dealers surveyed think the start-to-finish process should take under an hour, but only 11% of dealers overall say they are able to achieve that. For dealers who specify under an hour as an ideal time, the number of those dealers achieving it doubles to 22% (and rises to 55% for those whose ideal time is under two hours), indicating that targeting a shorter transaction time ultimately leads to shorter transaction times.

Wasted time in dealership is biggest consumer pain point

Unengaged wait time in the dealership outpaced negotiation as the biggest consumer pain point at the dealership, according to the dealers surveyed – with time spent in F&I cited as the top pain point by one in four dealers. Nearly 60% of dealers indicate wasted consumer time is potentially their biggest CSI issue.

F&I needs connected process to streamline wait times

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed agree that the greatest obstacle to success in F&I and CSI is the time it takes to complete the F&I portion of the car buying process and 63% cite the transition from Sales to F&I, and time spent in F&I, as the biggest slow downs. “These are symptoms of the ‘silo’d’ sales and F&I process,” continued MacInnis. “If information flow were consistent and uninhibited across departments, a connected car buying process would be facilitated, time in F&I would be reduced, and the overall transaction times would accelerate.”

Are dealers waiting too long to pull credit?

Of dealer respondents who say they pull credit, over half wait to pull credit until well into the purchasing process.

“We believe that pulling credit sooner is a critical – and simple – step to streamlining the process and achieving better CSI and higher closing ratios,” said MacInnis.

Dealers united

The snapshot survey, conducted online among dealerships nationwide in October 2016, also showed that dealerships are united on the idea that increasing CSI means greater sales and profit (91%) and on the goal of connecting the online and in-store process (69%).

About eLEND Solutions
eLEND Solutions is a privately held technology company whose patented platform offers integrated credit, identification and finance solutions that enable a connected buying experience for consumers and a streamlined sales and finance workflow for dealers and lenders that reduces the time to complete a vehicle purchase transaction by hours.  For more information, visit www.elendsolutions.com.

Contact: 
Media Relations 
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com 
Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, (714) 987-1016, crystal@mwebbcom.com

Dealership M&A Activity Declines in Third Quarter; 2017 Increases Likely, according to The Blue Sky Report™ released by Kerrigan Advisors

Pace of acquisitions slow for balance of 2016; incoming Trump administration motivating sellers to push closings to 2017, while more foreign investment anticipated next year

Irvine, CA, November 22, 2016 – Dealership M&A activity declined by 7% in the first nine months of 2016 YOY, with sellers likely to push closings to 2017 in anticipation of potential tax benefits from the incoming Trump administration, according to analysis from the Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which was released today.  Overall, premium pricing declined in the first nine months of the year, but buy/sell activity remained strong with a 32% increase in the number of multi-dealership groups selling in the first nine months of 2016.

Today’s Blue Sky Report, published by Kerrigan Advisors, is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership mergers and acquisition activity and franchise values. It includes analysis of the first nine months of 2016 - laying out the high, average and low blue sky multiples for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments for the quarter - and offers a detailed view of public and private company dealership acquisition activity.  

Key data and analysis from the report includes:

• 172 dealership buy/sell transactions completed in the first 9 months of 2016[1] versus 184 transactions in the first 9 months of 2015. 
• Buy/sell activity declined slightly in the 2nd and 3nd quarter, resulting in a 7% decline year-to-date. 
• Pace of acquisition activity is not likely to increase in balance of 2016.
• Transaction sizes are rising and multi-dealership groups are coming to market at an increasing pace. 
• For the third quarter of 2016, Kerrigan Advisors’ average blue sky multiples remained relatively stable.
• While premium pricing of auto dealerships is on the decline, most buyers are willing to acquire dealerships within Kerrigan Advisors blue sky multiples. 
• The auto retail markets made a dramatic shift to high margin trucks and SUVs, driven by low gas prices. 

“Buy/Sell activity remains strong but, with the expectation of a tax reduction from the Trump Administration, 4thquarter activity could decline as sellers hope for a more favorable tax rate on their sales proceeds in 2017,” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors.

The report identifies three key trends moving forward into 2017:

• Auto retail’s hedged business model sustains dealership profitability.
• Economies of scale and scope drive consolidation.
• Foreign interest in US auto retail rises.

“A trend we are watching closely for 2017 is the entry of foreign investors into the market,” continued Kerrigan.  “Because international companies are attracted to the franchise protections afforded to US auto dealerships and are seeking geographic diversification beyond their borders, we expect foreign investors to make their mark on 2017 with at least one or two completing sizable acquisitions.”

Kerrigan Advisors is deeply involved in the Buy/Sell Market having sold two of the top 100 dealership groups, Sam Swope Auto Group and the Carbone Auto Group, in the last 12 months and is currently engaged to sell two additional top 100 groups.  Kerrigan Advisors extensive experience representing the largest dealership groups in the country provides the firm with a unique perspective on the trends shaping the industry and today’s franchise values. 

The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, is published four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download the report, click here.

Kerrigan Advisors also releases a monthly index, The KAR Index, composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market.  The KAR Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access the KAR Index™, click here.

Erin Kerrigan (www.kerriganadvisors.com/meet-the-team-2/) is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

Each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan, who authors the report, is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:

Cassandra Cavanah (cassandra@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 818.397.4630
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

“Gubagoo’s RESQ’s technology is all about saving dealerships time and money, while increasing their opportunity from lead to sale,” continued Title. “RESQ goes wherever the dealership sales team goes, keeping them connected 24/7 to not only ‘rescue sales’ but, now, provide any customer the information they need.”

RESQ also provides support to the service department, pushing real-time calls from customers to service advisors’ mobile phones wherever they may be on the shop floor. Together with Gubagoo’s TalkSmart and ChatSmart, RESQ can send push notifications to any salesperson or service advisor’s mobile phone, notifying them that a customer needs assistance. In return, the service advisor or sales team member, on their mobile phone, is able to ‘whisper’ back to the Gubagoo operator, giving direction, or seamlessly requesting the call or chat to be handed over to them and take control of the conversation from any location.

RESQ technology is both desktop and mobile and available for iOS, Android and web browsers.

Gubagoo, one of the fastest growing and most effective chat and website engagement providers for automotive dealerships, tracks and scores over 18 million shoppers every month through its B.E.A.S.T. scoring technology and sends over 110,000 leads to dealerships every month. The integration of RESQ into Gubagoo further boosts the effectiveness of the company’s ChatSmart and TalkSmart products.

Gubagoo is demonstrating the new RESQ features at DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas, October 23th – 25th.

 About Gubagoo

Based in Boca Raton, Gubagoo is the leading provider of dealer live chat, text, and call solutions. Gubagoo offers seamless integrated web-based, SMS, and call monitoring technologies for automotive dealerships. Our passion for customer service and lead conversion, makes Gubagoo the best 24/7 car dealer chat, text, and overflow call provider in the automotive industry. Gubagoo’s U.S. based operators, receive the highest level of training and certification to make certain every customer that engages in a live chat, text, or call, receives the best possible customer experience. Gubagoo delivers the best quality of service to automotive dealership customers and strives to maximize the dealership’s lead conversion rate and long-term auto sales. For more information about Gubagoo products, visit www.gubagoo.com or contact 855-359-2573.

Gubagoo Media Relations

mWEBB Communications, Melanie Webber, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com

Gubagoo’s latest innovation enables Facebook users to chat with auto dealerships, using Facebook Messenger just like they chat with friends; unlocks new sales channel for auto dealers

Boca Raton, FL –October 21, 2016 – Gubagoo, the fastest growing and most innovative provider of solutions to the automotive industry, today announced that it now offers complete and seamless integration with Facebook Messenger. Gubagoo is one of the first chat providers in the automotive industry to offer this feature on the world’s largest social network, which has nearly 1.7 billion users to date. The new functionality is the latest in a series of game-changing innovations from Gubagoo that make it easier and faster for auto dealerships to engage and convert consumers. Gubagoo’s Facebook Messenger Integration is available immediately to dealerships using Gubagoo solutions.

“Today, consumers spend an average of fifty-minutes a day using Facebook platforms, including Facebook messenger – that is one-sixteenth of their waking time[1],” said Brad Title, CEO of Gubagoo, Inc. “At Gubagoo, we are relentlessly focused on helping auto dealers connect and engage more effectively, in real-time, with their customers – and Facebook Messenger is, increasingly, where consumers are making their connections. With this new integration, customers can chat with dealerships like they chat with their friends: better engagement equals better customer service equals increased sales conversion.”

The new integration with Facebook Messenger, gives customers another channel through which they can directly communicate with auto dealerships using Gubagoo’s 24/7 fully-managed, messaging capabilities. Gubagoo’s customers can push inventory and offers directly though Facebook Messenger and, because it integrates with Gubagoo’s mobile app, dealerships will have real-time access to conversations taking place between customers and Gubagoo chat operators. Dealerships using Gubagoo can now do the following through Facebook Messenger:

• Send Inventory

• Push Video

• Publish Offers

• Book Service Appointments

• Take Calls

Gubagoo is one of the fastest growing and most effective chat and website engagement providers for automotive dealerships. Gubagoo tracks and scores over 22 million car buyers every month through its B.E.A.S.T. scoring technology and generates over 125,000 leads to dealerships every month. The company’s online selling tools, which increase efficiency, control, and conversion - as well as improving the consumer experience at the Dealership - include ChatSmart, TalkSmart and the recently launched and integrated RESQ platform for Web and Phone.  RESQ also enables dealerships to monitor chat conversations in real time. Some RESQ Beta site customers have experienced up to a 300% increase in lead-to-sales conversions in their dealership.

Gubagoo will be demonstrating the new Facebook Messenger integration and RESQ platform at DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas, October 24th – 26th.

About Gubagoo

Based in Boca Raton , Florida, and staffed by a team of veteran technologists and innovators in lead conversion, Gubagoo offers revolutionary behavioral engagement and scoring technologies for automotive websites. With a mission to provide a smarter, more cost-effective alternative to the old lead generation model, Gubagoo is the first dealership website solution that successfully makes anonymous traffic identifiable, and converts the 95% of dealer site traffic that traditionally defects. Incorporating smart predictive matching and the best chat technology available - and powered by its proprietary behavioral engagement and scoring engine, ‘B.E.A.S.T.’ - Gubagoo engages new and repeat dealer site visitors with unprecedented relevance through its ChatSmart, and TalkSmart products. Gubagoo’s recently launched RESQ is generating a 300% increase in lead-to-sales conversions in dealerships and enables dealerships to monitor chat conversations in real time. Over 1,900 dealerships, including some of the nation’s largest dealer groups, as well as OEM-certified programs, already have adopted Gubagoo-powered websites.

Gubagoo Media Relations:

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

New patent covers “demand/price driver” engine that powers pricing and features analysis found in CarStory Market Reports; data provides dealers with in-demand selling points for every used vehicle on their lot and gives car buyers insights to make better, more informed decisions

Austin, Texas – October 18, 2016 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of search and inventory data and analytics on used vehicles, today announced that a technology powering its Market Reports has been awarded a U.S. Patent No. 9,465,873. This is the second patent awarded in two years time for a technology utilized by CarStory Market Reports. To date, the Reports have been adopted by over six thousand auto dealers nationwide to help consumers understand a vehicle’s whole ‘story’ through comprehensive, real-time, hyper-local data. CarStory delivers 15,000,000 Market Reports each month to consumers around the country.

The patent, titled Systems, Methods and Devices for Identifying and Presenting Identifications of Significant Attributes of Unique Items, was awarded to Vast.com Inc., which uses the technology to power its CarStory Market Reports. The technology automatically determines which aspects of a used vehicle search are most significant to consumers and then identifies the top 3 or 4 features that are the unique price drivers for that vehicle, presenting them in an easily digestible format to enable consumers to make more confident purchasing decisions.

Vast.com Inc.’s most recent previous patent was issued in December 2015 for its “similarities engine” which automatically generates relevant and ‘like’ vehicle recommendations through the CarStory Market Reports to car buyers, helping facilitate a better, more informed car selling/buying experience.

“Vast’s newest patent validates the power of the technology behind CarStory Market Reports. Because used vehicle price drivers differ dramatically from those that influence pricing when a vehicle is brand new, unique technology is required to help illuminate and quantify nuances for both dealers and consumers alike,” said Dr. David Franke, Chief Data Scientist at Vast.com and co-inventor of the patent.

For example, a trim line that adds value to a car when it is new may not play the same, positive role in the vehicle’s price after a few years of wear and tear – leather seats may age poorly or GPS technology may be outdated.

“It is this real time, preference-based, nuanced vehicle intelligence that has been awarded in the patent and is the reason CarStory Market Reports have been so widely adopted,” said Franke. “Our ‘demand/price driver engine’ improves the used car buying process by highlighting the handful of vehicle attributes that consumers are most interested in – even down to regional and local levels.”

By embedding important vehicle research directly in the Vehicle Detail Page (VDP), CarStory Market Reports encourage consumers to stay and engage on dealership websites, rather than clicking off to find information on third-party research sites. The Reports’ robust and unique information is based on insights generated from a combination of real-time used vehicle listings and data from over eight million used car searches each week. The patented technology highlights the unique attributes and features that drive price, whether it’s bluetooth, roof rack or heated seats.

“CarStory Market Reports really help educate our sales team about which features are most important to our used car shoppers, and, because they are so engaging and informative, the reports have increased our online lead conversion,” said Tom White Jr., General Manager of Subaru of Wichita.

###

About CarStory

CarStory is a service that matches used car shoppers with the right car. Using patented technology and an industry-leading dataset, CarStory facilitates an efficient, effective discovery process resulting in a confident purchase decision. With a network of over 6,000 participating dealerships nationwide, CarStory’s available inventory and user-data is the largest, and most accurate in the industry. Discover your new used car and drive happily ever after at: www.carstory.com.

About Vast 

Vast is a big data-as-service platform that provides consumer experiences —powered by data and analytics — for big purchases in automotive and real estate. Founded in 2005, Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for many of the Global 1000’s largest automotive and real estate businesses. Learn more at Vast.com.

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Multi-Franchise Dealership Transactions Rise by 52% in First Half of 2016 according to The Blue Sky Report™ released by Kerrigan Advisors

Despite a slight decline in overall transaction activity, average transaction size is up; record franchise values and rising real estate prices spur more sales by family-owned dealerships; domestic transaction buy/sell share increases

Irvine, CA, August 22, 2016 – The number of large, multi-dealership transactions rose by 52% YOY in the first half of 2016, according to The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which today released its analysis of the first six months of 2016.  Although there was a decline in overall transaction activity, the average size of transactions rose significantly. The report from Kerrigan Advisors is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership mergers and acquisition activity and franchise values.

Laying out the high, average and low multiples for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments for the quarter, the report offers a detailed view of public and private company dealership acquisition activity.  Key findings of the report covering the first six months of 2016 included:

• 32 multi-dealership transactions completed
• 22% increase in average transaction size: average dealership group sold represented more than three franchises[1]
• 16% decline in overall transaction activity
• Dealership group sellers spurred by retirement, estate planning, lack of a succession plan and rising real estate prices
• Domestic buy/sell market share increases: buyers attracted to higher ROI vs. imports
• Private buyers continue to drive the market as publicly-traded dealerships’ market caps decline
• Publicly-traded dealerships, as a group, sold nearly as many dealerships as they acquired

“Many owners of multi-franchise groups, particularly those at or near retirement, are capitalizing on their ability to sell their groups to a single buyer in today’s market,” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “Even with the exit of most of the public buyers, private buyers and new entrants remain active and are often attracted to the scale provided by larger group acquisitions. And, while the activity level in the first half of 2016, was lower than the first half of 2015, if annualized it would exceed the number of transactions completed in 2014.”   

The report identifies three key trends for the second half of 2016:

• Transaction sizes will continue to rise
• Public valuation declines in first half of year, portends potential private valuation declines
• The quality of current and future sales may weaken

“While buy/sell activity declined in the first half of 2016 for the first time since the recession, driven primarily by the exit of most public buyers, we expect the pace of acquisition activity to increase in the second half of 2016, as private buyers and new entrants continue seeking sizable acquisitions and sellers continue to capitalize on attractive valuations,” continued Kerrigan. “But it must be noted that the decline in the public dealership values as noted by The KAR Index, may portend a decline in future private values and the quality of industry sales may be weakening, increasing industry risk and resulting in lower dealership earnings.”

The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, is published four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download the report, click here.

Kerrigan Advisors also releases a monthly index, The KAR Index, composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market.  The KAR Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access the KAR Index™, click here.

Erin Kerrigan is Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, and is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells. A sought after commentator on automotive retailing topics ranging from consumer auto buying trends to auto retail consolidation to private equity in auto retail, she has keynoted numerous automotive conferences and her analysis has appeared in publications such as Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal.   

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is a national dealership buy/sell advisory firm focused on providing a high level of client service for dealership sellers. Led by a team of veteran advisors who have represented transactions totaling over $2 billion dollars in automotive, private equity and investment banking, Kerrigan Advisors customizes each sale process to maximize the seller’s transaction proceeds. With the most comprehensive buyer database in the industry, Kerrigan Advisors has the industry context and expertise to match each seller with the right buyer.

Each quarter, Kerrigan Advisors publishes The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan Quarterly, which is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership buy/sell activity and franchise values.  Kerrigan Advisors’ Managing Director Erin Kerrigan, who authors the report, is a recognized industry expert on dealership valuation, real estate and buy/sells, and is a frequent speaker at leading auto retail events and conferences, including NADA, JD Power Automotive Roundtable, AICPA, NADC and Driving Sales’ President’s Club. She has also been a keynote speaker for events hosted by American Honda Motor Company, Audi of America, US Trust, Ohio Automobile Dealer Association, and SunTrust Bank and has led webinars for NADA and Automotive News.  Her expertise is also featured in a monthly column for Dealer Magazine. 

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:

Cassandra Cavanah (cassandra@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 818.397.4630
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

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CarStory Launches VDP Deep Linking: Delivers Low Funnel Traffic and High Engagement to VDPs During “Moment of Search”

The CarStory Advertising Network offers faster and more effective Vehicle Details Page deep linking from CarStory’s extensive and highly trafficked network of automotive marketplaces

Austin, Texas – August 9, 2016 – Dealerships can now attract low-funnel, high-converting consumers from the highly trafficked CarStory Advertising Network via deep links directly into their websites’ Vehicle Details Pages (VDPs), CarStory announced today. The new offering also includes CarStory’s popular and comprehensive inline Market Reports, full of unique information that further engages consumers on their VDPs. Powered by over 30 used-car marketplaces, including Car and Driver, AOL Autoblog and J.D. Power, the CarStory Advertising Network boasts over 10 million unique search sessions monthly.

Deep linking to a dealer’s VDP is the most effective way of getting car shoppers to the exact vehicle they are viewing on a 3rd party marketplace – and offers the best opportunity for conversion because the shoppers are in prime time active research and decision making mode. VDP views have also been proven to be one of the best metrics for moving cars quickly and a recent study showed that VDPs with 20-30 page views spend 29% less time on the lot.

Compared to other VDP deep-linking programs, most of which rely on display advertising or SEM, the CarStory Advertising Network deep links from listings featured on automotive marketplace sites teeming with “in-market” consumers – and it is much faster:  car shoppers are transferred to dealership VDPs in just 200 milliseconds, approximately 25 times faster than other solutions. And, because the dealer’s VDPs are equipped with CarStory Market Reports, bounce rates are lower and engagement is measurably deeper: VDPs featuring CarStory’s free Market Reports have a 16% reduction in bounce rates and a 14% average increase in lead conversions.

“We have significantly advanced VDP deep linking by anchoring it to the ‘moment of search’ and sending car shoppers from our high traffic network to VDPs featuring CarStory Market Reports,” said Chad Bockius, Chief Marketing Officer of CarStory. “CarStory delivers a complete VDP solution: dealers cut out costly third parties along the shopping journey and get speedier access to deep funnel, in-market shoppers; while shoppers arrive on information-rich VDPs, increasing the likelihood of conversion.”

“CarStory Market Reports help turn our website visitors into car buyers – in addition to the amazing increase in lead conversion, our overall VDP bounce rate has gone down by 16%, while time spent on the page has increased by 10%,” said Ryan Montville, Webmaster, of Checkered Flag Auto Group.

CarStory Market Reports, adopted by over 6,000 dealerships nationwide, analyze tens of millions of pieces of customer vehicle preference data to provide consumers with inline ‘instant access’ information, including unique pricing and vehicle data, such as the number of owners the vehicle has had, if it has low mileage relative to others on the market, whether or not it is likely to sell quickly, as well as the features and packages that people find most interesting and valuable. This robust information keeps consumers engaged and eliminates the need for additional research that could take the shopper away from the dealer’s website. CarStory delivers 15,000,000 Market Reports each month to consumers around the country and they have been adopted by 50% of the top 10 dealer groups.

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About CarStory

CarStory is a service that matches used car shoppers with the right car. Using patented technology and an industry-leading dataset, CarStory facilitates an efficient, effective discovery process resulting in a confident purchase decision. With a network of over 6,000 participating dealerships nationwide, CarStory’s available inventory and user-data is the largest, and most accurate in the industry. Discover your new used car and drive happily ever after at: www.carstory.com.

About Vast 

Vast is a big data-as-service platform that provides consumer experiences —powered by data and analytics — for big purchases in automotive and real estate. Founded in 2005, Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for many of the Global 1000’s largest automotive and real estate businesses. Learn more at Vast.com.

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, 949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications 818) 379-4630, cassandra@mwebbcom.com

New Study: Dealership Purchase Transactions Reduced by 60 Minutes, Likelihood to Buy Increases 56% with New Process

White Paper from eLEND Solutions with Huntington Beach Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram examines how a simple driver’s license swipe, and a new process can set financing pre-qualification in motion, reduce transaction times and increase closing ratios

Foothill Ranch, CA – August 4, 2016 – The time it takes to complete a purchase transaction in the dealership can be shorted by sixty minutes with the simple swipe of a driver’s license and specific process improvements, according to a new study released today by eLEND Solutions. The study entitled “A 60 Second Process Change Decreases Transaction Time By Over 60 Minutes” conducted with California-based Huntington Beach Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, proves that, in addition to streamlining the transaction time, triggering financing pre-qualification at the start of the sales process can increase likelihood to purchase by 56%.

“We knew the only way to cut the time customers spent in the dealership was to start Sales and Finance at the same time,” said Pete Shaver, Managing Partner of HB Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. “To us, this meant the minute the customer enters the showroom. We decided to empower our sales team with the ability to combine the driver’s license test-drive scan with a consumer consent soft pull credit application. The results really speak for themselves.”

“Saving time during the car sales transaction has become a kind of holy grail in the auto industry. Both dealers and consumers alike want to shorten a process that is documented as being notoriously long, unwieldy and exhausting – often lasting up to four hours,” said Pete MacInnis, CEO of eLEND Solutions. In fact, a recent Cox Automotive study, said that less than 1% of consumers like the sales process as it is today – with the time spent in the finance department being the biggest issue; while 88% of dealers say significant opportunities exist to improve the sales and finance process in their store.

In the six-month study, HB Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram’s sales team was required to get a quick driver’s license swipe from consumers and invite them to opt-in for a pre-qualification soft pull credit app – with no SSN required and no impact on their credit score.

Key results included:

• Closing ratios up by 150% from 18-25% to 45%
• Average transaction time went from 3-4 hours to just 2-3 hours
• Gross profit per car sold increased $300+
• Savings of $200-275 per car sold in variable labor and miscellaneous costs
• CSI scores increased 4 points

Not only did HB Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram report record closing ratios, increased gross profits and shorter than ever transaction times, they also discovered that consumers welcomed this new process – especially because there was no SSN requirement or obligation to purchase. Over 50% of customers opted in for the one-click, soft credit pull and most had better than average credit scores – signaling a “ready-to-buy” buyer.

“Creating a connection between the traditionally silo’d sales and finance departments also helped solve the issue of data disconnects and bottlenecks in the finance department by capturing and de-duping all customer details in the CRM – whether from new walk-in customers or those already in the system,” continued Shaver. “Another improvement was the flagging up of potential fraudulent IDs prior to a test drive – an issue every dealer needs to get to grips with.”

ID Drive is able to authenticate every version of every driver’s license for all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. ID Drive is also able to append validated address and phone information to the lead record, and automatically convert a driver license scan into a consumer consented pre-qualification application.

“HB Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram’s commitment to, and its sales team 100% compliance of, this new procedure helped cement their success. The results really speak for themselves - proving the case for connecting the sales and financing processes and beginning F&I as early as possible in the selling process,” concluded MacInnis.

To read the full white paper, click here.

ID Drive’s pre-qualification function works hand-in-hand with eLEND’s CreditPlus, a tool that instantly pre-qualifies customers based on dealer-defined credit criteria, giving car buyers direct, upfront access to dealership financing sources and real near-final terms from multiple lenders, all of which are controlled by the auto dealer.

About eLEND Solutions
eLEND Solutions is a privately held technology company whose patented platform offers integrated credit, identification and finance solutions that enable a connected buying experience for consumers and a streamlined sales and finance workflow for dealers and lenders that reduces the time to complete a vehicle purchase transaction by hours.  For more information, visit www.elendsolutions.com.

Contact: 
Media Relations 
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com 
Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, (714) 987-1016, crystal@mwebbcom.com